On the Back of a Broomstick
by Wren Skywalker
Summary: The old Hogwarts trio get together for a reunion, and Harry teaches his daughter to fly a broom, while thinking about his Quidditch days.
1. introduction

Ginny thrust her wand at a head of lettuce, deciding she'd had enough. She poked her wand at the head, and watched with a triumphant smile as it ripped into shreds and fell in a bowl.  
"Can't you do anything without a wand?" asked the familiar voice of Harry, her husband, from behind her. She glared at him, appearing to be offended.  
"I am a witch, you know," she replied in an angry voice that Harry knew was fake. She rounded on him and pointed her wand at him. "Now, if you don't want to end up like that lettuce, I suggest you go and start the grill."  
Harry's green eyes flashed with a hidden smile. He jumped away from the threat, laughing.  
"Only joking, Ginny," he said as he went outside to see to the grill fire. His best friends, Ron and Hermione, whom he and Ginny hadn't seen for two years, were coming for a reunion of sorts. Harry couldn't wait to see them again, and to hear all about their lives: Ron's Quidditch career, and Hermione's studies at a prestigious Muggle art college. Most of all, he couldn't wait for them to see Jamie, his daughter, again, who had just turned five.  
"Harry!" Ginny called from the kitchen window, "Harry, Ron's here!"  
He jogged back into the house, just as Jamie bolted out of her bedroom. Harry opened the front door for Ron, who staggered in under the weight of a suitcase and a large bag. He threw the stuff down and heartily shook Harry's hand, then wrapped him in a bear hug.  
"Good to see you again, mate!" Ron cried happily. "Still short as ever, eh?"  
"Oh, come off it!" Harry said with a grin. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Jamie burst in, instead.  
"Uncle Ron, Uncle Ron!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly. "What did you bring me, uncle?"  
Ginny came hurrying from the kitchen.  
"I heard that, Jamie! Mind your manners!" she scolded, rather sternly, but her face was all smiles. She exchanged warm greetings with her brother.  
"You know, Ginny, you sounded rather a lot like Mum just then," Ron commented with a laugh. He reached into the bag he'd been carrying. After instructing Jamie to close her eyes and hold out her hands, he placed a miniature Nimbus 2000 in her outstretched palm. She opened her eyes, and her face lit up.  
"Oh, wow, Uncle, a model! I love it! Thank you!" She gave Ron a hug, the tiny broomstick still clutched in her hand. Ron looked at Harry and winked over Jamie's shoulder.  
"That's the same kind of broomstick your dad rode on when he played Quidditch in our school days," Ginny put in. Jamie looked up at her father, amazed.  
"You played Quidditch, Dad? Wow!"  
Harry chuckled and ruffled Jamie's thick auburn hair.  
"Someday I'll teach you how to ride a broom." 


	2. getting there

~CHAPTER 2~  
  
A/N- This chapter contains a very brief spoiler for OotP, so be warned. Also, thanks for all you're wonderful reviews, I rather like 'em! I guess I should also add that Harry Potter or any of the other characters (besides Jamie) belong to me; they're all J.K. Rowling's, of course. Jamie, however, is mine, and I'm rather proud of her.  
  
Hermione arrived not long after Ron, and after a delicious meal of hamburgers and chips, they sat around the small lawn table in the Potter's back yard, sipping lemonade and watching Jamie play with her 'broomstick'.  
"Say, Harry, do you remember the time that woman from the ministry banned you from Quidditch?" asked Hermione, stirring her drink with a straw.  
"Yeah, Professor Umbridge, wasn't it? Couldn't stand her," Harry replied. "All I did was give that Malfoy a good ol' slug in the stomach-"  
"That he rightly deserved!" interrupted Ginny. "The way he carried on about Mum and dad like that, I liked to hit him myself!"  
They watched Jamie play for a bit longer, then Ron leaned in a bit.  
"You know, Harry, that's not just a model she's got."  
Harry looked at him, bemused, waiting for him to continue.  
"It's a real Nimbus, I've only put a shrinking charm on it." Hermione nearly spit out her drink.  
"Wow, Ron, that's incredible!" she cried. Harry smiled at his friend, then became serious again.  
"Ron, how did you afford it? I know Nimbus's aren't the newest models, but still--"  
"No worries, mate. Quidditch pays quite well, and I felt it's only right to dote upon my only niece, after all you've done for me."  
"Oh, Harry, are you going to teach her to ride it?" Ginny asked excitedly. Harry glanced back out at the yard, at his daughter, and then looked at Ginny.  
"I think she's ready, yes." He looked at Ron and winked. "By the time we're through with her, we might have another Quidditch player in the family."  
"Maybe even a Seeker," said Hermione, smiling.  
  
A/N-next comes the part where Harry teaches her to ride! Aaawwww!!! 


	3. New Disclaimerplease read

A/N: This posting is just to say that in my 'disclaimer', I accidentally said that Harry Potter and his mates, etc, do belong to me, instead of saying that they DO NOT belong to me. So let me fix that: I do NOT own any of the characters that anyone recognizes as being J.K. Rowling's. The only character that I created is Jamie, the rest belong to J.K.! Sorry for the mix up. --Wren skywalker 


	4. Jamie learns to fly

~Chapter Three~  
  
Ron performed the appropriate spell on the tiny broom, and it slowly stretched to a life- size model, perfectly carved, each twig hand selected for ultimate flying capabilities. His young niece's brown eyes grew round as she realized what her uncle had really given her.  
"Uncle, a real broomstick? Wow, I've never had a real broomstick!," Jamie cried happily, hugging Ron once more. Harry picked up his daughter and swung her around.  
"While Mummy and Hermione clean up, how about I give you a flying lesson?," he asked, and Jamie squealed with delight. Ron winked at his best friend and stepped back to watch. Harry gripped the handle of the broomstick and pulled one leg over, straddling it, like a rather skinny horse.  
"See what I did, Jamie? Good, now you do the same thing; climb on in front of me," Harry instructed, and guided her gently as she, too, hoisted herself onto the broom. He held onto her tightly with one hand, and the broom handle with the other.  
"Ready, Jamie?"  
"Oh, yes, Daddy!"  
Harry kicked off from the ground a bit, and pushed upward gently, until the broom lifted them effortlessly into the air. Jamie laughed and gasped in wonder, and Harry was reminded of the first time he'd ever lifted off the ground on a broom. He had been raised in a Muggle house for nearly eleven years; until then, brooms were for cleaning, not flying. But from the moment his feet left the ground, and the wind brushed at his hair gently, he knew brooms weren't the same. They would never be.  
  
A/N- sorry this chapter is so short, but I wanted to update. Next comes the landing, and more memories from Harry. 


End file.
